1905 movie network feature Martial arts films, a genre that Chinese people have been watching for decades, seem to be unrecognized in today’s mainland film market. Few people go to shoot, and when they do, they are basically scolded. It is better to shoot some youth comedies. Occasionally, a Hong Kong director brings a script to the mainland to pan for gold, and almost all of them are magic blockbusters; those stars also prefer modern action movies; and in "Wen Zhang Wu Xu", Xu Ke is addicted to his 3D world. Zhang Zhiliang recently contributed a martial arts film – but unfortunately the reputation is too poor. The word martial arts seems to be getting farther and farther away from us.
On Aug. 7, a costume film called Lu Yang was released. Under the banner of "realistic romantic martial arts films," the person who dared to defy the trend in this era of martial arts films that has long been out of favor was named Lu Yang. For the vast majority of people, this name is still unfamiliar. He graduated from the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy in 2007; in 2010, his debut film won the Most Popular Audience Award at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea; in 2012, he completed the film. With a martial arts dream, Lu Yang was finally able to realize his dream when he made his third feature film.
Lu Yang said that when he was writing the script, he wanted "Embroidery Blade" to be different from any martial arts film. The film he borrowed from was a Hollywood action spy movie. Therefore, this time we can hardly see the scenes of the actors hanging in the way of weiya. They are all close-up combat, simple and deadly movements, and the three male protagonists are always covered in blood and embarrassed. Compared with those martial arts films full of flying in the sky and peerless qigong, the action of "Embroidery Blade" is unique. Whether it is good or not depends on opinion, but at least there is no attempt to deceive.
Investment 30 million actor offers friendship price "embroidery spring knife" into personal experience
In the 30 million investment of "Embroidery Spring Knife", scenes, art and other aspects account for the vast majority. Indeed, the flying fish clothes worn by the Jinyi Guards and the embroidery spring knives held in their hands are very well made, with clear textures and exquisite materials.
Zhang Zhen was the biggest star in the play, and when he was filming last summer, it seemed that Hou Xiaoxian was still filming at that time, but Lu Yang said that the play was resting at that time, and Zhang Zhen completely set aside a whole piece of time for "Embroidery Spring Knife". When asked about his salary, Lu Yang refused to say, only saying that everyone was friendly and supported him very much.
To put it simply, the movie tells the story of the relationship between the three brothers. Wang Qianyuan, Zhang Zhen, and Li Dongxue are all brocade guards, but they all belong to the kind that is not very good. Wang Qianyuan worked hard for promotion; Zhang Zhen fell in love with a prostitute, and the father of the prostitute was caught in prison by him; Li Dongxue seems to be the simplest, but in fact he is a raider who killed the brocade guard who hunted him back then, impersonated him, and has been blackmailed by his senior brother to this day. The three brothers have their own plans, but they have the courage to follow each other. In order to survive and develop, they made a wrong move, and since then they have made a mistake and fallen into a situation that is doomed.
The script written by Lu Yang himself was very solid. Every character and every plot was explained very clearly. The three protagonists had their own shortcomings, but they also had their own difficulties.
1905 Movie Network: This play should have been prepared for a long time, right?
Lu Yang: Yes, it took a long time to prepare. It was almost before my first film was filmed. It started in 2010, and it will be about two and a half years since the start of filming. It will be almost four years since the release.
1905 Movie Network: How much is the investment in "Embroidery Spring Knife"?
Lu Yang: The investment is not very high anyway, that is, it is actually such a cost of a B-level production, which must not be a big production. (20 million?) 30 million.
1905 Film Network: What 30 million the largest part of the investment?
Lu Yang: Production, the actor’s remuneration accounts for a very reasonable proportion, and those actors are also very helpful. They understand the production situation and hope to make a good film together. But in fact, the cost of this movie may not be covered by 30 million, and there are many hidden costs other than money. So it may not be possible to calculate with numbers alone.
1905 Movie Network: Was it easy to find investment at the beginning?
Lu Yang: It’s hard to find, it’s very hard to find. I started looking for investment after writing the script at the end of 2010. After looking for two years, I finally found it. Because the market’s judgment on costume films was not very good at that time. At that time, everyone thought that costume films were not for sale at all, so many investors would say forget it when they heard that costume films were not for sale.
1905 Movie Network: Have you given up something you originally wanted to film because of investment?
Lu Yang: Not at all, it’s because we believe or are sure that this must be a good story, so we want to shoot it no matter what, but we must shoot it. We are actually very insistent on creation, and there are suggestions to modify the story, or to leave the path we want, we will say forget it.
1905 Movie Network: How much is Zhang Zhen’s salary?
Lu Yang: Ah, I can’t ask, sorry, you can ask him. He is the most expensive one, but his salary can be said to be very reasonable and helpful.
1905 Movie Network: Did you invite Zhang Zhen?
Lu Yang: Actually, it was the producer Wang Donghui who asked if we should try Zhang Zhen. I said it was impossible, and I said he wouldn’t come. He said to send him the script first, and then he sent Zhang Zhen the script first. It was sent in the summer of 2012. It happened that there was an event to go to Taipei in the fall. Donghui helped me make an appointment for Zhang Zhen to meet in Taipei. I was very nervous, but Zhang Zhen seemed to like the script quite a bit. Of course, there is the role of the producer, Mr. Zhang Jiazhen.
Did Zhang Zhen make any preparations before filming?
Lu Yang: To practice swordsmanship, swords are not a difficult thing in weapons. Zhang Zhen has practiced Bajiquan before, but he has never had much contact with swords, so before the start of the game, all the actors will be arranged to enter the group for training first. Zhang Zhen is the first to come to the group and has been practicing swords for a long time. The action instructor hopes to integrate some of his previous close combat and Bajiquan into the swordsmanship.
1905 Movie Network: He should learn martial arts quickly.
Lu Yang: Yes, his ability to memorize tricks is really strong, and he can memorize them for a long time. I was secretly shooting videos at the scene at that time, and I could shoot them for a long time.
1905 Movie Network: Shouldn’t he use a double less often?
Lu Yang: Very few, except for very few, such as rolling or Weiya’s movements were done by the substitute for him, but many of them were also done by him. In fact, the amount of filming Weiya this time was very small.
1905 Movie Network: Among the three brothers, who is the most like yourself?
Lu Yang: There will be. I think everyone is like this. The three brothers, even others, will have a projection of our creator’s character or experience. What’s particularly interesting is that after reading the script, their favorite character is Ding Xiu, who played around on Monday, and so is Zhang Zhen, because they think this character is the farthest away from them and the kind of person they want to be the most. Ding Xiu is not bound by any system or rules, and he is very free. In fact, these things will have our own shadows.
1905 Movie Network: Do the two loves in the play have your own shadow?
Lu Yang: Ah… I’m not sure about this either, it’s very vague. These two kinds of love have something in common, just like Ye Qing and Li Dongxue are a very pure, without any benefits. That kind of relationship may appear in many youth nostalgia movies. The other is the relationship between Zhang Zhen and Liu Shishi. This is more realistic, that is, life and love will not be as ideal as you think, there will be many hardships and twists and turns, and even if you pay a lot, you may not get anything. I think this is an experience that everyone has, not just me.
1905 Movie Network: Which part of the play has your own experience?
Lu Yang: Maybe I think the characters in the story must have our own experiences or shadows, and then change, and put them in and hide them. In fact, when we talked at the beginning, we thought it could be made into a modern drama. Of course, it may be considered in terms of censorship, and the probability of making a costume film survive will be very high. But in fact, I think the audience should be able to understand the characters and their choices without any sense of distance at that time, just like modern people.
1905 Film Network: For a new director, in the face of so many acting actors, will they offer their own opinions on the script and other aspects?
Lu Yang: They will all, maybe they will tell me about this scene a long time in advance, maybe it will be better, there will be such an idea, they will not mention it on the spot, we will communicate very early, and when we have an idea, we will discuss it together to see if this thing can be realized, or if it can cooperate with other characters from a macro perspective. If it is good, we will definitely add it. Because I think the movie is a whole, a group of people doing a thing together, everyone’s wisdom must exceed one of them, and we must work together to make the movie better.
1905 Film Network: But some directors may feel that this play belongs to me and do not want the actors to change it.
Lu Yang: It may be divided into situations, and I will insist on some things. Because in fact, this thing may involve a design judgment, that is, the opinions put forward by others. If you think about whether it will be better for the movie or deviate from your original small thing, it actually depends on the judgment itself, not whether it is mine or yours.
Next page: Martial arts films should break away from the traditional routine "Embroidery Spring Sword" and learn from "Bourne Shadow"
